First time builder, please review my new gaming rig

Hello Everyone,
Ok this is the 1st time I ever put together my OWN gaming system. While I am not a hardcore gamer, I wanted a decent system for gaming and watching movies. The games I mostly play are WoW, SCII, Call of Duty and Battlefield. After doing some research (and within my budget) this is what I came up with. Pls give feedback on my new rig.

I have a couple of questions 1) Is my memory ok? 2) Since I haven't purchased the Video Card (last item) would you wait for the ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 (assuming it will) to drop in price?
Thanks any feedback is aprreciated
Lamar

The GTX 460 1GB performs considerably better than the 768MB version according to most benchmarks. So this would be a better choice.
You could also try and procure an HD 6870 which would give a significantly better performance at a premium of about $70.

Ritwik7
Yeah that is the main reason (features) I picked this board. I am not really concerned with USB 3.0 or Sata III at the moment. Besides I would rather save the money and use it towards memory or a better Graphics card.

Route 44
Oops sorry, I thought I added it in the begging. My Budget is $750-$800 US.
Edited: I don't need a mouse or kybd. Using this monitor as well ..
ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor

By the way, I love the cpu choice.
* Of course Ritwik7 bet me -- again! Fully agree with him on the Corsair and either the 6850 or 6870 would be a good choice.

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The Phenom II 965BE is rock solid (see specs) although it's being discontinued in favor of the 970BE and 975BE, which from the reviews I've seen do have a little more headroom for overclocking than the 965BE. Also on board with the 6850 or 6870 over the GeForce 460 ... plus that leaves the door open for Crossfire where SLI isn't an option with your motherboard.

Is there a reson for the COOLMASTER Hyper 212+? is it because you will be overclocking? If not, no reason to spend the cash on this part.

I just built a gaming rig for my brother-in-law using a HIS 6850 and I was pleasantly suprised at how nice this card handled. My B-I-L loves it. Plus as Mizzou rightly points out your board is limited to Crossfire but that is okay.

I have an alternate suggestion for you if you can squeeze $10 more out of the budget. The Phenom X6 1055T...and here is why. I build a lot of these for customers as i am finding more games are using 4+ cores (including BC2)

anyway this multi-core use by games is certainly the trend for the future. Secondly the Phenom x6's are the best OC'ing chips by AMD to date. I am building number 7 and they have all done 4+Ghz easily and rock stable at 1.43v. ( I run mine @ 4.2 @ 1.445v) Thirdly when or if you use your machine for other multi threaded apps/software, a 4Ghz x6 is very fast. ( between a i7 975 and a stock i7 980) This has been my experience with my machine as well. here's a benchmarkhttp://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-crosshair-iv-formula-review/11
anyway, just am alternative I thought you may want to consider

hey J,
I think that sums it up, it seems multi core (4+) is getting adopted faster than DX11. That and its a no lose deal for an extra $10 you get better OC, more cores, they run very cool (even OC'ed past 4 Ghz) and better performance for multi-threaded software.
and you have more CPU support if you go way big with the VGA's I have my x6 running 4 OC'ed 5850's. if you can find one, there is also a 95w version of the 1055T.

*** I vote for the Asus EAH Direct Cu version. I started using them a while back and they are phenomenal cards

hey J,
I think that sums it up, it seems multi core (4+) is getting adopted faster than DX11. That and its a no lose deal for an extra $10 you get better OC, more cores, they run very cool (even OC'ed past 4 Ghz) and better performance for multi-threaded software.
and you have more CPU support if you go way big with the VGA's I have my x6 running 4 OC'ed 5850's. if you can find one, there is also a 95w version of the 1055T.

*** I vote for the Asus EAH Direct Cu version. I started using them a while back and they are phenomenal cards

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Man, how I wish I could afford a new build. I'll have to look into the Asus version. These 6850s are a nice addition to the graphics card glut.

I have an alternate suggestion for you if you can squeeze $10 more out of the budget. The Phenom X6 1055T...and here is why. I build a lot of these for customers as i am finding more games are using 4+ cores (including BC2)

anyway this multi-core use by games is certainly the trend for the future. Secondly the Phenom x6's are the best OC'ing chips by AMD to date. I am building number 7 and they have all done 4+Ghz easily and rock stable at 1.43v. ( I run mine @ 4.2 @ 1.445v) Thirdly when or if you use your machine for other multi threaded apps/software, a 4Ghz x6 is very fast. ( between a i7 975 and a stock i7 980) This has been my experience with my machine as well. here's a benchmark

anyway, just am alternative I thought you may want to consider

Click to expand...

Thanks Red, I will take you up on your advice CPU and Video Card.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave feedback ::grinthumb

0k guys, I am back for yet another video card question. Ok so it seems the 5850 outperforms the 6850 and the GTX460 outperforms the 5850. But the GTX460 is equally in performance to 6850. If that is the case why not go with the GTX460? Just curious?
Thanks

From the reviews I've seen the 6850 outperforms the GTX460 on a pretty consistent basis, here's a performance summary from a review of the Gainward GeForce GTX 460 SE on TechPowerUp. Across a wide variety of games the 6850 is 21% faster and the 5850 is 28% ... the HD 5850 is pretty sweet card.

The GTX 460 and the HD 5830 are pretty evenly matched (with the 460 1GB usually performing better). The 6850 on the other hand, as Mizzou pointed out, does consistently outperform the the 460. In your case it also makes sense to go the ATI way as your board supports CrossFireX which will allow you to add a second 6850 in the future.

I am aware of the 870 - 890 chipsets, but I am not concerned with USB 3.0. Also I a realize I could have gone with the new Shady Bridge technology. But I prefer AMD and can upgrade when Bulldozer arrives.

It pays to consider the alternatives before pulling the trigger so you're not second guessing yourself later. Question is if the Intel build is over your budget or is just more than you want to spend. Think this will determine which system you wind up building, the Sandy Bridge rig would be pretty sweet.

Sorry if I made it sound like I am second guessing myself. :blush: My budgets is $750 and I pushed it over my max budget of $800 dollars. But I am fine with that because of the Rebates. Even with the rebates from the Shady Bridge system. I still couldn't afford it. I was just posting it because it would be a nice setup. I am and will be more than happy with my build. And with the advice and improvements from you guys. I will like my new build even more.